DIORAMA OF ROSENLAUL The new picture at the Diorama in
the Regent's Park represents the valley of the Rosenlani. It is a deep glen in the Bernese Alps, hemmed in between the loftiest mountain-peaks, which in the distance reach to the clouds; to the right rises a dead wall of solid rock, vaster than the wall with which Alexander shut in the people of Gog and Magog; to the left an immense glacier, "the pearl of the Alps." The light of day, which is bril- liantly reflected by the snowy summits, fades to a twilight in the depth of the valley. Two mountain torrents meet and mingle their leaping streams; cold mists overhanging at the edge of the shady depths into which they plunge. A few goatherds and a solitary cottage mark more the deso- late character of the spot; human presence suggesting a standard to measure its bleak perils. While you view it, a thunder-storm enve- lops the place in darkness, and the lightning reveals the mountains by flashes. The thunder passes, and the ceaseless brawl of the torrent re- sumes its reign. The darkness of the storm appeared to us excessive-not Perhaps for verity in these alpine abysses, but for verisimilitude: a slighter storm would be more real to Cockney senses. The view is one of the hap- past ever exhibited at the Diorama,-excellently painted, and excellently managed. Travellers at home should never neglect these opportunities of visiting difficult and dangerous spots without the hardships of the route; and for parents, we cannot cease to repeat, that these visible and typical specimens of physical geography are invaluable aids to tuition.
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